Sermon: Rev. Alexander Crummell

 

Sermon for Sept. 10, 2015 ~ 11: 00 Rite I

Rev. Alexander Crummell

19^th Cty Priest, Scholar, Author, Abolitionist

The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse

St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, AZ

For online access to the readings click here

I speak to you in the name of One God:

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Today is the Feast Day of

Rev. Alexander Crummell,

who died this day in 1989.

What do you know about him?

Biographical information includes:

·        Born in NY City, 1819, struggled a/x racism all his life.

·        Driven out of school in NH, Dismissed as candidate for Holy Orders. Rejected by General Seminary, but ordained in Dio Mass.

·        Outspoken advocate for abolition of slavery

·        Moved to England 1848, 1^st black student to graduate from Cambridge.

·        Went to Liberia, Africa, as Epis.missionary, and professor of Philosophy and English 1853

o   hoping to establish a strong urban presence of independent black congregations

o   Worship, education, social service

·        Lack of funding, returned in 1873

·        Appointed “missionary at large of the colored people” in Wa DC and established St. Luke’s in 1875, serving as rector for 20 years.

·        In 1882, when Southern bishops wanted

to establish separate missionary districts

in each diocese for black congregations,

he organized The Conference of Church Workers Among the Colored People

to fight the proposal,

eventually became UBE.

·        Unionof Black Episcopalians (see handout from Sunday’s service, tell about Vigil on October 31 for PB Michael Curry.)

What gifts do you recognize in Rev. Crummell?

·        Perseverance despite discouragement

·        Strong faith in God

·        Perception that the Church transcended racism and limitations of it’s leaders

·        Unfailing belief in the goodness and greatness of black people

So it is not surprising

that these texts were chosen

to commemorate Alexander Crummell:

Sirach, with it’s repetitive

You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy

You who fear the Lord, trust in him

You who fear the Lord, hope for good things

Or Psalm 19

7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and revives the soul; *

the testimony of the Lord is sure

and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8 The statutes of the Lord are just

and rejoice the heart; *

the commandment of the Lord is clear

and gives light to the eyes.

And finally, the Gospel according to Mark:

The parable of the sower invites us to reflect on the complexities of faith, as illustrated by the parable of the sower.

In the parable, for example, Jesus says

the seeds passively “fell” –

·        on the path,

·        on the rocky ground,

·        among the thorns. 

·        But the seeds that “fell” on the good soil

brought forth great yields.

Yet when he explains it to his disciples,

he changes the verb to “sown” –

the active verb is “sown”

·        on the path (Satan takes it away)

·        on the rocky ground (receive with joy but fall away at any trouble)

·        among the thorns (cares of the world get in the way)

·        But the seeds that are “sown” on the good soil (hear the word and accept it) bear great yields.

This reflects the complex realities of our faith.

What makes our faith endure

during prosperity as well as hardship? 

The parable invites us to consider the soil

as a metaphor for discipleship.

True discipleship

does not offer easy, comfortable solutions,

as Alexander Crummell demonstrated.

And, I can bet that there have been times

in your lives

that your discipleship has not been easy,

but it has offered you rich soil out

of which you have yielded great yield. 

Can you think of any stories in your life?

How about facing the embarrassment

of giving to the poor when friends remark,

“they will just drink that money away.”

Or suffering a great loss,

only after which we are able to see

the grace, reconciliation and love

that was received in the midst of it.

Or having just the right prayer

that allowed us to persevere

through a difficult season.

Or believing that even when everything

seems to be crashing down around you,

there is this little glimmer of hope

that “this is not all there is,

there is more hope than despair here!”

In this call to discipleship,

Jesus says that the word of the gospel

is not too weak for the job:

Loss has been part of the discipleship process from the beginning of time. 

Despite the vigorous opposition to the word

– the path, the rocky ground, the thorns –

even for Jesus,

despite the dramatic evidence

of his relationship to the divine,

even he was not able to sustain

an enduring faith from all who heard him.

But to those who cultivate discipleship of

rich, fertile soil –

with spiritual practices like

perseverance, hope, and love

To those who cultivate rich soil of discipleship,

        God’s abundant love will yield

thirty, sixty, hundredfold.

Amen